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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Deaf Sri Lankans of Sri Lanka

The Deaf Sri Lankans of Sri Lanka, numbering approximately 165,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication . They are an Indigenous people, in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Sri Lankan Sign Language.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Kate Nelson/AusAID - Wikimedia Kate Nelson/AusAID - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Sri Lanka
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Sri Lankan Sign Language (sqs)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 165,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047744

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Pray for the Deaf Sri Lankans of Sri Lanka

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sri Lankan Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

%
Sri Lankan Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Sri Lankan Sign Language:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sri Lankan Sign Language:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Deaf Sri Lankans

The Deaf Sri Lankans are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Deaf Sri Lankans

The Deaf Sri Lankans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Deaf Sri Lankans

The Deaf Sri Lankans are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Deaf Sri Lankans of Sri Lanka

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turnedóevery oneóto his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Deaf reported in the following countries (ROP3):

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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